Innovation is hard. Humans are complicated. Incentives are tricky.

Over the course of writing a book and countless conversations spanning a decade, I have collected off-the-record anecdotes of what's really going on. The root cause of misalignment.

In a carefully curated environment designed for trust and privacy I will share stories of ""that workshop where the innovation leader told the group that it is ok to fail, and the open innovation team stood up and said, ""I failed once, small, 3 years ago and you personally remind me of that every time I have a new idea"".

I will share stories with you but you will be asked to share, off the record, stories with each other. It's gonna get real.

Adam Berk is a startup collaboration and innovation expert with over a decade of experience working with large organizations to drive innovation at scale. He is the co-author of ""Startup Program Design"", a book about how organizations can work with startups for better outcomes on both sides.

Adam has a proven track record of helping large public and private companies, government agencies, and impact-driven organizations implement ""innovation at scale"" using Lean Startup principles, hypothesis-driven product development, and evidence-based (stage-gate) investment governance.

Adam is a mentor for Google for Startups and Techstars, as well as various college entrepreneurship programs. He has a keen interest in environmental and equity-based issues and loves to work with student accelerators. As a frequent speaker at innovation and entrepreneurship events, he shares his insights on Lean Startup principles, hypothesis-driven product development, and evidence-based investment governance.

Adam's favorite question is ""What problem are you solving and for whom?"" He applies this question not just to startups, but to open innovation programs and ecosystem design.